The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Professional Engineering Services for the Jamestown Community Microgrid Project.

The selected proposal will provide engineering services to lead the design, installation and testing of the Jamestown Community Microgrid Project, which includes a battery energy storage system and other associated upgrades for the Jamestown electric system.

Responses to the RFP are due back to the Jamestown BPU by June 7. Additional details can be found on the Jamestown BPU website at www.jamestownbpu.com/414/Jamestown-Community-Microgrid.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office executed a contract with the BPU, effective October 1, 2024, for a $17.37 million grant to build a Microgrid at the BPU power plant location. The BPU also contributed a total of $5.79 million to the project funding.

“The Jamestown BPU is excited to issue this RFP for engineering services to help with the design of the Microgrid, which will provide many benefits, including a significant increase in the resiliency of the Jamestown electric distribution system,” said BPU General Manager David L. Leathers.

The BPU Microgrid system involves utilizing existing power generation equipment to power a strong network of underground electrical distribution circuitry to ensure a high level of utility service reliability and resiliency in the core of downtown Jamestown, independent of the regional system. The microgrid will ensure that energy is delivered to public services, the hospital, designated emergency shelters, schools, and other businesses and that electric vehicles can be charged during an emergency.

When the Microgrid is in place, the core area of downtown Jamestown will either remain in electrical and thermal service or experience only a brief outage in a disruptive event. The Microgrid will enable most of the community’s first responders and critical services to operate more efficiently in case of a significant service interruption during a disastrous event.

The proposed Microgrid system will take advantage of the BPU’s existing gas turbine, its network of underground circuits, the district heating system and the addition of a black start battery storage system.

The mission of the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) is to catalyze the development of new and upgraded electric infrastructure across the country by maintaining and investing in critical generation facilities, developing and upgrading high-capacity electric transmission lines nationwide, and deploying transmission and distribution technologies. Learn more at energy.gov/gdo